I was wondering if you might be able to share some advice. My team began the semester at 20 strong and now were lucky to get 7 to practice. How would you go about to rebuilding/ building a team?
Sorry this took so long to answer, I wanted to get some input from the team.
This is a problem that affects a lot of teams to varying degrees and can have several causes. I would start by finding the root of the problem, contacting people individually and asking them (in a non-judgmental way, work together to find a solution) about why they aren’t coming to practice or why others are not attending. It may be something as simple as schedule changes or being too busy. You may be able to adjust practice schedules and get more people.
The problem can also be more complex, involving the personalities of people involved. If a certain group of players is kind of clique-y and makes others feel excluded, that’s a major issue. Every team will have minor drama but huge divides within a team cause instability, especially if they involve team leadership. If necessary, have a meeting to discuss the issue (this can be hard, emotional, and draining but sometimes necessary just to get everything out in the open and stop having it drag the team down).
Also if people feel like practices are too relaxed/too competitive/not what they are looking for, they may stop attending. I’ve noticed a lot of people will start a semester regularly attending and then stop as the school workload increases and practices get more intense. It may take some adjusting to find the right balance for your team. We had a bit of a rough patch when we switched our intensity, but we got through it.After you figure out the root of the problem, take various steps to solve it. Adjust the practice times/intensities if necessary, keep communication channels open, set up various reminder systems (sometimes people just forget, seriously), recruit more, and find bonding activities that work for your team. Figure out what types of personalities and people you have and make them feel included: give them responsibilities, invite them to social events, attend events for their other clubs and activities, and generally make them feel like part of the “family.”
Maryland Quidditch spends nearly excessive amounts of time together. We go to concerts and games together, support each other’s other clubs/activities, eat together, study together, and celebrate together. We also try to recruit fairly aggressively (though always be nice and stay positive!) and constantly remind everyone where/when practices are.
Hope this helps!